I've been subscribing to Gentleman's Quarterly for about... 4 years now. I don't know why exactly I started.When I moved from Denver to Washington DC, I sold a stack of old GQ's to some slimy looking dude for like 5 dollars. Weird right?
I got a letter in the mail saying that due to an "upgrade in my account" it allowed them to "seamlessy provide subscription service" without having to renew my subscription, I'd just be billed.
But I didn't want that. It's like one of those CD clubs where unless you check the box, they're gonna send you hoards of CD's and make you pay for them. I showed those guys who's boss. Send me three copies of Lenny Kravitz Are you Gonna go my Way will you...
Anyways, I've kind of been wanting to cancel my subscription for a while. My favorite segment is "the Style Guy" where people ask questions about grooming and dress. Sometimes I like the opinions and its generally a good idea to have some sort of foundation as to why you are ascribing to various dress standards. But sometimes I'd ask myself "why am I taking advice from a guy who has like 17 pairs of jeans and ten thousand dollar hermes shoes" or whatever.
Sometimes there were very fascinating articles. But then other times there was kind of questionable content and I would get kind of bummed about that. So in the end... I nixed it.
So where does this leave me? I think I can afford one magazine subscription, what do you recommend? Keep in mind I already get Bicycling for free somehow (but, it hardly satiates my bike interest, that rag is strictly for roadies).
I'm not sure which direction I should go? Pop culture, men's interests, bicycles, technology. Ideally I'd like a little bit of all of that. Actually, if there was a magazine that was all about bicycle transportation I would be very physically attracted to that magazine. I once saw this Mag called "Momentum" that I think was trying to do what I just described, but the issue I saw had a family with a dad who looked like a serial killer so I decided I didn't want my family to turn into that.
I guess I could do Wired... or the Economist... but I want something exciting. Any ideas?
23 comments:
You could get National Geographic Traveller or the original Nat Geo even if your grandma still reads it.
hmm... nat geo is a possibility. it's expensive though right?
i just wanted to utilize the html option here for a second. Inc. is good.
As far as Gentleman mags go, i've always been an Esquire man. it's the best.
not as much of that sleezy bullcrap, and it's not targeted to the gay community. being straight, that's refreshing.
good post, Dave.
BYU Studies, The FARMS Review, or Element all come highly recommended.
[please forgive BYU Studies for being named BYU Studies.]
if you look online now, national geographic is only $15 for one year. craaazy! I bought it for my nieces and nephews for Christmas. With that you could get the economist too (which I love) or the New Yorker....
new yorker is a good idea.
inc?
esquire... i've always thought of that as the poor man's gq. maybe because i'm a former gq subscriber.
blair - byu studies? c'mon... what are they publishing, Regression models that chart facial hair against heavy petting? element, what's that all about?
Like I said, ignore the name. BYU Studies is pretty solid. This recent editionwas anchored by Edward L. Kimball's "account of the 1978 revelation granting the priesthood to worthy men of all races. Beginning with a brief history of the priesthood ban, the article then traces President Spencer W. Kimball's personal support of the Church's longtime position until, at the death of President Harold B. Lee, it suddenly became his problem. The subsequent process by which President Kimball became convinced that the time for change had come, and how he involved his counselors and the Twelve in preparing for the divine manifestation that followed, is one of the finest examples of leadership in Church history."
It's not your Ensign fluff.
Element: Journal of Mormon Philosophy and Theology. Good stuff.
http://www.smpt.org/element.html
sounds a little heavy for me considering i just made the new era - ensign transition three weeks ago.
j/k.
i want something more... how do i say this - worldy?
Vanity Fair.
My parents are magazine subscriptions addicts (see this post from my family blog
http://gimbelfamily.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html
Vanity Fair has some really interesting articles In the most recently issue, I read an article called "Reversal of Fortune" by Joseph Stiglitz, a profile of Amy Adams, and a review of Cherie Blair's latest book on being Britain's first lady.
It is missing all your men's health/fashion and I think has the stigma of a ladies magazine, but it is not. It has lots of fashion ads (for both men and women!), so that is sort of track, right?
My dad (a GM Factory worker and bicycle enthusist) really likes it!
mmm betsey, you make a very compelling argument. i like that.
my parents are total junkies too. they rival the library of congress. i think they have a serious problem. the most obscure one i can think of is my dad's subscription to "the friends journal" - a quaker publication.
We subscribed to Newsweek for years, until we finally hit the wall with the baby-boomer pandering. And I do mean years...all the way from high school until about a year ago.
Right now we get Time, The Economist, and Entertainment Weekly. You might kind of like EW. Also we get Seventeen, Lucky, and Creating Keepsakes, but I don't think they are what you are looking for.
I belong to some site where they send me free magazines from time to time as promotional offers. So I get Interview, Artforum, and Spin right now. National Geog is good. Seed magazine (another free one) is interesting. Personally I'd go for Wired.
kreating keepsakes!!! tell me the customer service number now!
wait. time? i always thought time was the GOP version of newsweek. is that not true?
EW - hmm... is it anything like the E(ntertainment) channel?
i want something that subversively panders to my demographic.
meh
Time kind of is the GOP Newsweek, but it came free with our subscription to the paper. So Time it is.
EW is not like E!, I don't think (I don't watch E!) It's all things pop culture - not celebrity pandering.
i was going to say vanity fair too. usually well written articles etc. i usually only get through a quarter of it when i fly home (whereas I have read all of people magazine with time to spare. oh and don't judge me on the people magazine. i just love doing the crossword on the plane. it's super easy so i can actually complete it!!)
Runners World is kind of lame but fun to get in the mail every month. If that helps you out.
Harpers is for snappy well written articles. Atlantic Monthly for a bit of a retro feel. My sister subscribes to Mental Floss and it's a fun publication if you like obscure stuff.
I am going to have to second the New Yorker suggestion as well as the Vanity Fair suggestion. Both amazing periodicals. I can't live without them.
http://www.wendmag.com/
Kiplinger's.
thanks for all of your meaningful input.
i think it is going to come down to vanity fair or the new yorker.
great suggestions overall - but some of them (you know who you are) were a serious step down.
Fast Company
Post a Comment